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  1. #1

    [Music] Why Do {People THink Bands With Mainstream Success Are Bad?

    Just wanted to know peoples' views on this.

    Have you ever really really liked a local band? And then they start to get more and more successful and then they hit it big and get signed to a record label? Why do people suddenly think that the band is terrible after this happens?

    My brother is like this, and I can't stand it. There are bands that we both used to love, and he has to say something everytime he hears me playing them because they're suddenly terrible, apparently. I don't understand it.

    Like for example, some bands that this have happened with are bands like Blessthefall, or Motionless In White. We've both really, really liked them (he actually introduced me to Blessthefall). THen Blessthefall got really popular and he hated them, and has since (I still love them, really love their latest album). I see the same thing happening with Motionless In White.

    I just don't understand it.

  2. #2
    I've ALWAYS thought that the whole "Sell out" complaint is ridiculous, even when I was a fairly young teenager. But to be honest, I have idea what the mainstream popularity of any of the music I listen to is. And I really don't care. I listen to what I like to listen to, regardless if they have 10 fans, or 10 millions fans.
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  3. #3
    I don't follow a lot of "mainstream" bands seeing my genre of music doesn't exactly produce the kind of music you find on a billboard 100 chart. the idea of selling out is for jaded fans who think their band has sacrificed some sort of musical integrity to reach a wider range of people.
    Last edited by Sky High; 2013-09-07 at 04:46 AM.

  4. #4
    And actually, I CAN'T understand why the local band I grew up listening to ISN'T more successful. They're amazing. They're a rock group that's changed and evolved their sound with each album over the years, with each album being better and better than the one before.

    If you're interested in some heavy music with light touch and tons of melody, check out Scapegoat form Charlotte, NC. Their newest album, "I Am Alien" is available on Spotify (you'll find tons of other results when you search "Scapegoat" but only the album "I Am Alien" is theirs).

    If you want to check out the rest of their stuff, Youtube might be of use. In chronological order, from newest to oldest, their albums go "I Am Alien," "Zombie Dog," "Let Our Violins Be Heard," "These Cards Were Dealt," "The Element of Design," and "Two on One."

    Everything from These Cards and onward is great, but they really kicked up their game with Violins.

    FUN FACT: If you've played Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, this band's vocalist, Kit Walters, did guest vocals for two songs off the soundtrack: "The Stains of Time," and "A Soul Can't Be Cut."
    Quote Originally Posted by Novakhoro View Post
    I recommend shoulder surgery immediately... there's no way you didn't fuck it up with how hard you just reached.

  5. #5
    Warchief Szemere's Avatar
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    I don't think so with most. But for quite a lot, it is the case though.

    Example, a bit more extreme a case than others: Pitbull. First song was catchy, fun, big hit, well deserved. Sadly, Pitbull and/or his producer isn't that creative, and that's why a lot of his songs sound incredibly similar to previous songs, and lots of collaborations with other artists often are simply him ruining an otherwise "okay" track by starting to rap. (there are exclusions of course, his recent "out of nowhere" was actually nowhere near as bad as previous songs) And mainstream radio/TV simply gulps it up because well... He made big hits before, it's similar, so it's a "safe" bet to put it on. Safe bets to play a lot means it gets promoted a lot more means it is much more well known and obviously a lot more sold than it otherwise would.

    Main problem IMO is that new/unknown artists simply don't get played in the "mainstream" places where music gets played. I personally like EDM a lot, and even though most established names in that genre are actually making fresh and good tracks regularly, it's still too bad that it's the same ones that keep getting promoted, rather than some other artists that have proven themselves to make good music several times, yet aren't known anywhere other than on promotional youtubechannels or other online media... Good example is Fox Stevenson (formerly Stan SB), constantly original while sticking with his thing (EDM with his own vocals through it), but I sure as hell never heard him getting played...

    But yeah, it has all to do with "everyone knows this guy so it's a safe bet" etc, which allows artists to get lazy if they have the image and fanbase that allows them to mess up a lot. (which well, is the same with everything, WoW for example messed up bigtime on some stuff, yet maintained position as best selling MMORPG, because it has a fanbase that is okay with some awful content coming out now and then, as long as there's some good stuff inbetween)
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  6. #6
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    Well some people care more about the bands than the music they actually play. That's probably the best reason I can think of.

  7. #7
    Immortal Clockwork Pinkie's Avatar
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    Because they think mainstream and overrated automatically means bad. Inception is overrated, but still good. It's all opinion though, some people like it some people hate it.

  8. #8
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    Because sometimes bad bands have great success.
    As such people correlate their personnal taste to the idea that a band is shit and try to back it up with the success of the band as if that somehow reinforces their position.

    Don't mind the hipster cretins who tell you that "Real music is underground". Yeah man, great music never has any success. Yeah right.

  9. #9
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    Because most of them are.

  10. #10
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    I love(d) it when my favorite bands go(t) mainstream. But the problem to me is that in many cases they adapt to the audience..

  11. #11
    Herald of the Titans -Ethos-'s Avatar
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    Most of it stems from people feeling entitled that they discovered an artist before they became famous. Paramore is one of the biggest examples of this on my itunes. After the song they released for Twilight, so many hugely devoted fans turned away/against Paramore and their newly gained fans partly because they felt that entitlement.

    The more successful and the bigger the label the artist signs up to, the more chance their sound will change. That plays a huge part in the whole "selling out" idea too.

  12. #12
    Herald of the Titans Racthoh's Avatar
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    people just want to feel superior in some way or another.

  13. #13
    Why Do {People THink Bands With Mainstream Success Are Bad?
    Because they mostly are.

    I mean, look at Minaj, Lil wayne, Bieber... and yeah I know those aren't bands, but still.

  14. #14
    Some people genuinly just don't like what's mainstream. Other people just love having that hipster mindset by hating everything mainstream for no good reason.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shadow-cleave View Post
    Just wanted to know peoples' views on this.

    Have you ever really really liked a local band? And then they start to get more and more successful and then they hit it big and get signed to a record label? Why do people suddenly think that the band is terrible after this happens?

    My brother is like this, and I can't stand it. There are bands that we both used to love, and he has to say something everytime he hears me playing them because they're suddenly terrible, apparently. I don't understand it.

    Like for example, some bands that this have happened with are bands like Blessthefall, or Motionless In White. We've both really, really liked them (he actually introduced me to Blessthefall). THen Blessthefall got really popular and he hated them, and has since (I still love them, really love their latest album). I see the same thing happening with Motionless In White.

    I just don't understand it.
    The thought process that leads to it is actually quite rational, just people forget that ANY sort of generalization in the real world will ALWAYS have exceptions and counterexamples.

    For some reason, most things that become popular are stuff that appeals to the lowest common denominator. This is true for pretty much any sort of media.

    Without being demeaning, because frankly, music taste does not, in any form correlate to what sort of person you are or how intelligent you are, I think the primary reason for that is focus.

    Most people are NOT interested in music. Sure they say the love music and they might listen to it a lot, but in my experience for the most part, to them it is cheap entertainment. Something they put on when they do work, go for a walk, or wax their cats or whatever. They do not actually care about "deeper" aspects, and on deeper aspects I do not mean anything silly pseudointellectual bullshit, just the stuff that makes said music up beneath the surface.

    They want music that is catchy, easily digestible, and does not require too much attention. That is what most "pop" music is. It does not mean in cannot be good but most pop music is produced with the single intent to sell to as many people as it is possible. It is not work of art, it is a product. In this case I define work of art not necessarily by quality, but by artistic intent behind it. Mainstream musicians do not make music most of the time to express their inner thoughts and feelings and whatevers, but to sell. As a product. That is what sells, simple as that. Mainstream music listeners will not dig music with progressive tendencies, with long songs, with unusual structures because that would require attention to "get". They don't want to devote much attention to it. They want something to listen to whilst they do their doing doity do-s.

    They also do not dig music that has harsh elements. Like harsh vocals, dissonant riffs, etc, because those are for the most part acquired tastes, and they wish not to devote the time/effort needed to get into it, just write it off as garbage in an instant.

    What I described is not necessarily a bad thing, but this is what I see that makes most music that gets popular very bland and uninteresting to me.


    However I start to digress because what you described is more the "sellout" phenomenon than the "mainstream music sucks" phenomenon.

    About that - that boils down to generally two things.

    1) A "hipster" mentality. I hate that word because it actually means nothing really, but the populace uses it so...

    Those people probably have an aversion to mainstream music due to what I outlined above and as such they start to generalize based on popularity as opposed to giving it a chance.

    2) Those bands get popular because they change their sound. If this is the case, then if the change in sound might mean they got popular because they changed their sound according to the principles I pointed out above as a property of pop music. This may or may not be a bad thing, but this might further mean that group 1) intrinsically takes a dislike to it.

    Since you seem to be into the metalcore scene, I'll make a few examples. Though not a metalcore band, you probably know In Flames. They changed their sound mid-career from gothenburg-metal (melodic death metal but I hate the term because most bands under this umbrella have zero death metal in their music. Arsis, The Black Dahlia Murder, Obscura, early At The Gates are examples of actual death metal with large emphasis on melodies. Most MDM bands are not really death metal) to some sort of alternative metal. This attracted the instant dislike of many previous fans who didn't like the change. Either because they undoubtedly sailed to more popular waters and they changed their sound that is more appealing to the general populace, or because they simply honestly did not like their new sound. I am torn between the two because some stuff they released after their change was really great, others (cough, A Sense of Purpose) not so much.

    But we can actually observe the opposite as well. Good example of that would be Underoath, who after releasing their pop punk/post-hardcore hybrid album, They're Only Chasing Safety, that propelled them into the mainstream, finished their career by releasing three dark, brooding and oppressive sludgecore albums.
    This change was definitely the opposite of "selling out" but it still lost them fans, probably way more compared to if this changed happened in the other direction. They also gained some new fans that appreciated the direction they took (including me, I like TOCS, but frankly, Define... and Disambiguation are so so much better).

  16. #16
    Legendary! Pony Soldier's Avatar
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    Well when I think mainstream I think of the crap pop/hip hop stuff like Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and Nicki Minaj and all those other pop stars. That stuff I hate because it's just utter crap and the media crams it down your throat forcing you to recognize these people and their "music" and it's just everywhere anymore. I hate it when I'm watching a show with somebody and then all of a sudden "...and our special guest performance by Justin Bieber!!" or "...Nicki Minaj!!" that's when I just get up look for something to do or eat until it's over. Ugh, I'm just sick of the "music" that's being pumped out these days, it's disgusting, for me it is at least.

    I miss the days where music had class and they used actual instruments instead of computer noises and auto tune all the time. Where are all the damn rock bands!? Every new artist that comes into the spotlight are either hip-hop/R&B or pop. Metal bands, forget it, there will never again be another mainstream metal band at least not in the US or even hard rock for that matter. A lot of times I feel like I was born in the wrong time.
    - "If you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black" - Jo Bodin, BLM supporter
    - "I got hairy legs that turn blonde in the sun. The kids used to come up and reach in the pool & rub my leg down so it was straight & watch the hair come back up again. So I learned about roaches, I learned about kids jumping on my lap, and I love kids jumping on my lap...” - Pedo Joe

  17. #17
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    Why Do {People THink Bands With Mainstream Success Are Bad?
    Most people don't.

    But mainstream music requires a certain sound, and on the whole are superficially created. e.g Miley Cyrus's 'We can't Stop' was offered to Rihanna and a bunch of other 'stars' before she got it. At which point Miley claims it as her own song, and explains what the song means to her life and why the lyrics were a certain why.

    Which is hilarious because the song was pre-written without her input.

  18. #18
    Elemental Lord Reg's Avatar
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    I think the problem, at least from my point of view, is that they end up changing their music either before or after becoming famous to suit their music to a new audience.

  19. #19
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    Hating's cool. The end.

  20. #20
    People who stop liking something because it got success are just plain retarded. If they do, they never really liked it anyways. This is of course if the group/artist remained true to the music they make. But as Reg mentioned, if they change their style to get success I don't think it's weird for a person who was a fan of their earlier style to dislike them though.
    The nerve is called the "nerve of awareness". You cant dissect it. Its a current that runs up the center of your spine. I dont know if any of you have sat down, crossed your legs, smoked DMT, and watch what happens... but what happens to me is this big thing goes RRRRRRRRRAAAAAWWW! up my spine and flashes in my brain... well apparently thats whats going to happen if I do this stuff...

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